


Chapter 1: Winding Down and Gearing Up

by EvilGM, Skizzlefritz124



Series: A Finn In Four: The Chronicles of SG-4 [3]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-29
Updated: 2014-12-29
Packaged: 2018-03-04 05:33:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2954120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilGM/pseuds/EvilGM, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skizzlefritz124/pseuds/Skizzlefritz124
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the newly re-formed SG-4 begins to mesh into a cohesive team, Dr Terhi Lehtinen finds that routine missions, aren't; and a simple survey to a new world proves to be anything but simple...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapter 1: Winding Down and Gearing Up

A Finn In Four - The SG-4 Saga 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Interludes: 

_28 January 1998; General Hammond’s Office:_

_Lou Ferretti kept a neutral expression as Hammond spoke to the other three, giving the Brooklyn-Italian Major a chance to assess his new team. His eyes fell on Blackhorse the marine; competent, stoic, above average scores and force-recon qualified. He’ll be an asset. His eyes flicked to the Franklin woman; a tech engineer of some kind. ‘I suppose she’ll be useful, but she comes across like friggin’ Mary-Ann from Gilligan’s Island.’ he thinks, trying not to shake his head as he does so. Now this Lehtinen woman, she’s supposed to be... Jesus Christ look at her! Seriously?’ Lou pressed his lips together and held his face still as his eyes drifted over the blond woman standing next to ‘Mary-Ann’. They can’t be serious; I mean...look at her!’_

_As Hammond distributed the team patches, Lou notes the reactions of the three newbies. ‘Typical - no change in the jarhead...wonder if he’s even noticed they’re women yet? ‘ As for the two geeks… well, they look young; okay, all three are young. At least the blond doesn't giggle....’ He stood up to shake hands with them and then lead his new team outside._

_Is Hammond serious? Sure the jarhead is probably OK and I can ride herd on one of the others, but two geeks?’ He lets them vent for a moment in the hall. ‘Fan-freakin -tastic? C’mon kid, if you're gonna swear, then swear.... As for this blond - way too pretty for everybody's good; let’s just hope she.....damn, look at...... Maddy's eyes....’ Lou cleared his throat to get their attention…_

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

_29 January 1998: SGC Level 25, Team Quarters:_

_With a couple of friends from SG-3 to help him Blackhorse moved his stuff, taking the jibes about being "demoted" to the Air Force with good humour. The laughter dies away when Johnson and the other Marines reach Marcus' new room and catch sight of Marcus' new teammates just across the hall in their rooms. Jodi is just walking out in her uniform, doing up the final button on her shirt and smoothing down the pockets, while Terhi checks her appearance in the mirror, and looking back over her shoulder to make sure she's got everything on properly. There is a moment of silent appraisal and then, in a more chastised manner, the marines carry Marcus' bags into his room, while Lt Johnson sneaks a peek back into the hall where Tehri and Jodi are heading towards the elevators. "Damn Blackie,” he mutters watching the women as they walk away. “You must be the Colonel's fave…oh man." He says with a hint of envy in his voice._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

_1 February 1998, SGC:_

_“SG-4, your first mission will be to reconnoiter the planet we have designated P4J-464. According to the MALP, the planet is uninhabited.”..._

_Lou Ferretti dodged to his left as the staff weapon fire impacted the ground to his right. ‘Uninhabited my fuckin’ ass!’’ He silently cursed as he spun about and tossed another willy pete into the path of the advancing Jaffa before letting loose with a long burst from his rifle. It had been a surprise when they found the Chinese-looking inhabitants - ‘what did they call themselves; the Zisun or something like that? And this; Wax-world or whatever? H-U-A-X something, something’. A whole mini-Ming dynasty. Not even a problem; right up until somebody asked if they came from you. ‘You who? Yoohoo! - its a joke., get it?’ Returning his attention to the here and now, Ferretti watched the blond woman pull Franklin up the embankment of the earthen rampart surrounding the Stargate, while still managing to send controlled bursts from her MP5 in the direction of the pursuing Jaffa, while Blackhorse peppered the areas around the gate itself with his over and under. Lou threw the rifle to his shoulder and fired, sending the big bastard with the bad attitude who had been leading the Jaffa charge to the dirt with three new holes in his chest. Behind him, the WHOOSH of the Stargate told him that Franklin had the gate open. “SG-4 We are LEAVING! MOVE! MOVE!” He bellowed out the order as he scrambled for the gate..._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

_24 February 1998, SGC:_

_“SG-4, as you may or may not know, SG-9 has been on P8S-166, mediating a dispute between an indigenous medieval Romanesque society who call themselves the Rasenna, and a smaller, but more technologically advanced society who call themselves the Travex, who we believe may be an off-shoot of the Tollan people from a crashed colony vessel..” Hammond explains in the briefing room. “Your mission will be to negotiate with the Rasenna and coordinate with SG-9, who will deal with the Travex.”... Ferretti stood silently in the background, watching Lehtinen make all these hand gestures and babble away in a weird mix of Greek and Italian while these Romans; okay Lehtinen says their Etruscans, as if that matters; while they just stared at her. Her Nordic blond appearance was as exotic to the locals as finding a whole world of toga-wearers had been to SG-4. Ferretti stifled a yawn as Lehtinen made some other hand gesture that at least made the locals nod yes. ‘C’mon and hurry up already...I gotta pee.’_

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

_10 March, 1998, SGC:_

_“...accordingly, along with a detachment from SG-7, your team will proceed to P3X-797 and find out what happened to our people. Carry on Major.”... “GO!" Ferretti spins around the pillar and opens fire, sending a cluster of bullets impacting against Potiniya's energy shield, startling her with the unexpected fire. Tehri snaps off a shot as well, as Blackhorse squeezes the trigger on his M16. From behind the throne, Jodi steps out, firing her pistol. The mission had been a disaster from the word go; somehow a Goa’uld calling itself Potiniya had hijacked the body of Marsha Kendricks, an SG-7 scientist; and now SG-4 was fighting desperately to save Kendricks, the locals, and themselves from Goa’uld domination. The onslaught of fire from all sides disorients the Goa’uld and begins to overwhelm her shield, and Potiniya staggers, gasps and falls to her knees. For a moment her eyes lose the unnatural yellow glow they have held. Her energy field drops, when she looks up again, she calls out not in Potiniya's echoing voice, but rather Marsha Kendricks pained, frightened voice instead._

_"Oh God! Major help me! She's inside me! Oh my God, help me! Get her out! Get her out! She's killing me!" Marsha falls forward onto her hands, sobbing and gasping_

_"I... I don't think there's anything we can do to help her," Lehtinen says. Lou can hear the anguish in her voice, the desperation. “Maybe we can take her prisoner, Doctor Fraiser might be able to extract the Goa'uld without killing her.” The anthropologists tone is almost pleading, and Lou knows he’s the one; the only one- to handle this. He approaches Kendricks and kneels down beside her, his voice, surprisingly soft and gentle. "Hey, Marsha...Shhh...It's okay hun...it's going to be okay..." His hand touches her hair, even as the thumb of his right hand pulls back the hammer on the pistol. She looks up at him, tears on her face intermingled with an expression of pain._

_"I'm...I'm sorry...she forced me..." Marsha gasps, and closes her eyes to the pain. "I'm sorry." Ferretti raises the pistol to her head. "It's okay Marsha...It's....it's okay..." His voice is barely a whisper as he lines the pistol up to her temple..._

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

12 March 1998; Level 19, SGC: 

That morning, Terhi goes in search of Dr Langford, thinking it might be useful to compile information about the Olympian gods and heroes and so on. `After all,' she sighs to herself. `If there's Potiniya and Minos out there, there will have to be others…' 

Preoccupied with her idea, she almost collides with Marcus coming back from the gym. Lost in his own thoughts, the two narrowly missing walking into each other. 

"Excuse me," Marcus said automatically, mostly lost in his thoughts. "Oh, hi Doctor." He straightens up and pulls the towel around his neck tighter, and glad that he'd changed shirts at the gym after working out. 

"Hello, Lieutenant," Terhi says. A moment of silence stretched out. Terhi looked shaken. Marcus knew the feeling. He was pretty sure he'd contributed to it. "

So... You want to grab a cup of coffee?" he asked. Terhi's first instinct was to refuse, but she changed her mind. Being alone probably wasn't the best thing right now, considering what had just happened. "Sure, why not." "Well, it's Air Force coffee, but try not to hold that against it," Marcus said with a weak grin, relieved and perhaps a bit surprised that she had accepted his offer. 

"I've had worse," Terhi says with a smile. "Far worse." She assures him, walking next to Marcus into the cafeteria. Inside a dozen or so of the base regulars linger about – having coffee themselves or eating something. At the far end of the room, half a dozen die-hard smokers linger in the small `Smoking' section – their isolation a source of perverse pride. At a non-smoking table, General Hammond, Colonel Smith of SG-7 and Colonel O'Neill of SG-1 sit going over some sort of paper, with O'Neill making arcing, dipping hand gestures, and Smith shaking his head in exasperation. 

As they approach the coffee machines, Colonel Makepeace and Major Warren of SG-3 are leaving the smoking area and pass by Terhi and Marcus. Warren nods to Terhi and mutters a muted `well done' to Marcus, clasping him on the shoulder as he slips past. Makepeace takes an extra moment; nodding politely to Terhi and addressing her as Doctor, then look to Marcus. 

"General Hammond informed me of what happened, Lieutenant. For whatever it might be worth, I respect your actions." Makepeace says. "It doesn't get much worse than what you faced, Marcus." Makepeace says in a fatherly tone. "But you did the right thing, in an effective, efficient way. Good work Marine. You too, Doctor. " Makepeace adds a with a second nod to Terhi. 

"Thank you, Sir," Marcus replied. His mind agreed. His gut would come around. Terhi grabs a mug and fills it three quarters full with coffee, then tops it off with cream and several spoonfuls of sugar. Makepeace leaves the two alone, while a couple of feet away, Lieutenant-Commander Tanaka carefully fills a small teapot with hot water, a couple of bags of herbal tea lying nearby. 

Like about half the men in the SGC, Marcus took his coffee black. He followed Terhi to a table in the corner, away from the others, and waits for her to sit before he does. There's a lot that needed to be said, but no good way to put it into words. He wondered where to begin. "So, that was probably your toughest mission through the Stargate, huh?" Marcus said at last, settling on a safe, generic opening line. 

"It became really personal for me." Terhi nods. "I used to be part of the research department. I knew Marsha. Shared an office with Rothman, actually, but I knew her to see her, knew her work.." She sighs. "It was the kind of thing I expected, but lots of stuff I didn't," she says softly. "I knew from training that we'd likely end up in combat, probably against Jaffa or a Gou'ald, but I never expected to have to..." Terhi pauses for a moment, her throat getting tight. "I mean, I'd already prepared myself to believe Marsha was already dead, but to hear her like that at the end." She set her mug down, not wanting to trust her unstable hands. 

"Yeah," Marcus echoed. "I pretty much suck at this whole 'comforting' thing, don't I? I could tell you it gets easier, but I don't really think it does. I wouldn't want to have someone who thought it was easy watching my back." 

"Don't worry about it," Terhi says. "I'll be okay, eventually." She gives a slight smile. "So, was that a compliment? A marine willing to have a civvie back him up?" She chuckles and picks up her mug and takes a sip. 

"Well, you weren't as bad as I thought you'd be," Marcus admitted with a sly grin. "Someone's gonna have to teach you how to clock somebody, though." 

"You offering?" Her grin widens. There is a moment, when Marcus may have spoken, but it is preempted by Daniel Jackson's arrival at the table. 

"Uh, hi there, sorry to interrupt, but, uh…" He waves his finger in the air as if composing his thoughts then looks to Terhi. "I understand that you just recovered a Goa'uld artifact from P3X-797? One of their hand weapon devices, I believe? That's incredibly fascinating. Have you got a moment to discuss it with me?" He asks, clearly unaware that he has interrupted a conversation, with questions concerning the device's structure, function, any properties that Terhi noted, and a description of the capabilities it displayed. As Jackson talks, Jodi Franklin and Major Ferretti enter. Spotting Terhi and Marcus, the other two quickly grab coffee mugs and head over. Franklin is in street clothes, while Ferretti has changed into clean fatigues. Their arrival at the table finally causes Jackson to realize he's interrupting and with mumbled apologies, Daniel leaves the cafeteria and heads for the labs. Ferretti watches him go shaking his head. 

"Frigging guy speaks 23 languages, and is probably an expert on twice that many cultures, but doesn't have the common sense God gave a hamster." He says gruffly, though a wisp of smile lingers on his mouth. Ferretti looks back at the others. "How're you two doing?" 

Marcus grinned a little. "Good. Good enough." 

"Okay, I guess," Terhi, says. "Like I was telling Marcus, it's one thing to go through scenarios like that in training. It's another when you're out in the field. I'm glad that our plan worked. Things could have turned out far worse." Ferretti nods sympathetically, and regales the team with a 'war-story' about one of his early missions, back in the 70's, comparing his own 'Reality Versus Theory' enlightenment. Jodi's feelings seem to mirror Terhi's, and but as a whole, the team looks to be in good shape. After everyone has some coffee, Ferretti steers them up to the briefing room for their post-mission debrief. 

When the members of SG-4 report for debrief, they are surprised to find Lieutenant-Colonel Rossiter handling that, while Tanaka waits outside the Generals' office door with two small packages. When Hammond steps out into the briefing area, the team can see he is wearing full uniform with medals. Tanaka hands him a small box and a wrapped bundle, and with a nod to SG-4, Hammond leaves. 

"Where's the General going?" Ferretti asks, dropping into a chair as Tanaka returns to her desk. Rossiter looks up from his notes, looking from Ferretti, to the door Hammond exited through and back to Ferretti. “Oh, he's going to see Dr. Kendrick's husband and tell him his wife's dead. Nothing to concern ourselves with.” There is a moment of uncomfortable tension as SG-4 looks at Rossiter with surprise at his casual dismissal of the dead woman, then Terhi is on her feet; an angry look on her face at such rude indifference. Even as she steps toward Rossiter however, two men emerge up the metal staircase and into the middle of things. Terhi looks over and recognizes Jack O'Neill and the Jaffa Teal'c of SG-1. Both men are dressed in civilian attire. 

“No concern huh? Is it something I can help with?" Jack asks, moving over to stand beside Rossiter, cutting Tehri off but acknowledging her with a quick, polite nod. Teal'c stands back, looking - stone faced, as usual. 

"No, nothing for SG-1 either, Colonel." Rossiter says curtly. "We have a debriefing here Colonel, so don't let me keep you from anything.” O'Neill gives a mock expression of shock, looks towards Hammond's office, then shrugs. 

"Fair enough Rossiter - have fun." O'Neill starts to turn away, then stops and turns towards Tehri, handing her a card. "Oh Doctor, here's my cell number. If you feel the urge to call. You know. " O'Neill shrugs carelessly. "If you need help with a tire change...something like that." With a final nod to Rossiter and a wink to Tehri, O'Neill leaves, followed by Teal'c who nods deferentially to both Rossiter and Lehtinen. Tehri, her anger diffused, can’t suppress a smile and tucks the card into her pocket, as she takes her seat again 

“Now then, we'll start from your check-in after arriving on P3X-797..." Rossiter continues the debrief in his usual clinical manner, keeping the team members there for about two hours answering questions and explaining their actions. At the end of that time, he announces that he has sufficient information, congratulates the team on their good work. Before he dismisses the team, he informs Ferretti that he has the team's next assignment and directs Ferretti to accompany him to his office, while the others are dismissed. 

"I hate that Brass-Ass," Ferretti mutters when he returns to the team bay several minutes later. Looking to the team, he shakes it off. "Okay kids, I've got our next assignment – it's a First Survey job. Franklin, Lehtinen; you're on MALP preparations for the next two hours. Blackhorse, go get the preliminary info from Harriman in the Ops Centre and we'll meet back here in two hours." 

"Where'll you be?" Franklin asks, rising from the table. Ferretti looks undecided for a moment then shrugs. 

"Dentist…I think I broke a Crown on Minos." 

Terhi grimaces. "Ouch!" 

Marcus winced in sympathy. "Better than losing a filling. If you'd done that, the lab coat corps might have gotten up your butt about 'contaminating the site.' No offence, ladies," the marine quickly added. 

"Marc, after what we've been through, it's going to take more than the word 'butt' to offend me – don't worry about it." Jodi says kindly. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Before heading for the MALP, Terhi goes to find Daniel Jackson so she can talk to him about what she saw the ribbon device do. She finds him easily enough in his office on Level 19, looking at a stack of papers to one side, which he appears to be reading and typing into his computer. He looks up as Terhi enters, obviously surprised by her visit and his hands fumble with the stack of books, almost knocking them to the floor as he stands. "Oh, uh...hi....hello, I just...I wasn't expecting. A chair, would you like a chair?" he says, pushing the books into a messy but stable stack and gesturing towards a seat across the desk. As Terhi takes the proffered chair, she is aware that Daniel is doing his best to look anywhere other than directly at her or into her eyes. After a few polite words regarding the book Daniel is studying (an account of Sir Richard Burton's epic journey to Mecca and the Arabic verses inscribed onto the black shroud that covers the building), Terhi broaches the subject of the Ribbon Device. 

"Oh yes, the Kara Kesh - Ribbon Device." Daniel says, as if just remembering it. "Sam and Dr Nowicki have been examining it. Unfortunately, no one's been able to activate it, not even Teal'c. It seems to use the electrical impulses of the human body like some sort of - ignition system." He says after a momentary pause, waving his hand in several circular motions, as if drawing out the words. "There's something we're missing." He says. "Some trigger, but I don't know what." 

"Hmm," Terhi says, and she thinks for a moment. "Electrical impulses... Do we know how the presence of a symbiote affects the body chemistry? Maybe it needs a different kind of current? Kind of like AC rather than DC?" 

Daniel thinks for a moment, nodding. "Perhaps.... something that the Goa'uld add to the equation that makes it operate... Something about the symbiote itself maybe?" He looks at Terhi, as if seeing her for the first time. "I'll, I'll have to talk to Sam about that, but...it might be a lead...thanks, thank you very much Doctor." He says, closing his books and heading out the door. 

"You're welcome," Terhi says, following him out, "and please, call me, Terhi." 

"Oh thanks - Terhi. Later then." He says, moving off towards the far elevators. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Late afternoon finds the members of SG-4 in the Gate Room, readying a MALP probe for a second survey of P7X-165. More accurately, Jodi, Terhi and Master Sergeant Siler are readying the probe, while Marcus and Ferretti watch. 

Marcus hands over the data to Ferretti and the rest of the team. "Not much to tell you Major" Marcus says apologetically. “There's nothing useful in the file, which kind of makes sense for a first survey mission." Marcus adds. 

"P7X-165 is another of the addresses recovered from the Abydos Cartouche. The initial MALP report looks promising." Marcus adds helpfully, pointing out the printed data sheet: 

M.A.L.P. Report 01-301432Z Oct 97 

Planet Designation: P7X-165 

Temperature: 81°F 

Pressure: 0.95 ATM 

Hydrology: Humid 

Atmosphere: Composition within acceptable parameters. 

Weather: No precipitation. Winds under 3 MPH 

Biosphere: No plant or animal life confirmed. 

Radiation: Normal background levels. 

"You know, it actually looks like a nice place, for once." Ferretti says without his usual sarcasm as the two women cross the room to join the men. 

"Wonder what SGC wants with a bare rock?" Jodi mused. "Guess we'll find out. Maybe the MALP just hit a boring neighborhood." 

Ferretti nods, looking over the two sheets of paper. “Yeah, that sounds SOP for this outfit." Ferretti replies. "Well, at least we won't need parkas' for this one - 81 degrees.” He flicks the page with his finger and castis them aside. “Tan uniforms and extra sunblock for everyone.” 

“81 Degrees? Nice sounding weather, Jodi," Terhi says with an elbow into her friends side. "Think we should pack our bikinis?" She asks, with a mischievous grin and wink. 

Jodi looks over at Terhi, a wry grimace on her face, as her eyes flick up and down the blond woman’s frame. "Well, that’d work for you maybe, but I think I'll stick with shorts and a tee." She says, unconsciously crossing her arms over her torso. Ferretti for his part looks over then turns to Marcus. 

"Well, there's nothing in the regs against it, but...." He asks Blackhorse with a serious concern. "What do you think Lieutenant? Figure I could pull off the Bikini look?" The man puts one hand on his hip and mimes fluffing his hair with the other. 

"Major," Marcus said with a smirk, "I'm not sure I could answer that without violating the Uniform Military Code, but I'm not sure you could wear a bikini without violating the Geneva Convention." Terhi chuckles softly and Jodi snickers, before the two women continue with the MALP preparations. 

Ferretti raises an eyebrow. "No one likes a smart mouth jarhead, Lieutenant." He says firmly, then smiles and laughs at the whole thing. "Okay tell you what, we'll leave the beachwear behind just this once." Turning to Jodi Ferretti asks. "You’re the tech-wiz Doc. Are we ready to go with this thing?" 

Jodi stands up from the MALP, wiping her hands and actually patting the thing. "Absolutely, yes. I've installed the upgraded sensor package; Siler helped me with the new LI filter camera, there's an IR radial monitoring kit, and a bio-chem sniffer, too." She reports. Ferretti nods then looks to Sgt Siler and Jodi. 

"Okay get it to the ramp, then join us in the control room. Let's get this thing going." He says, as he turns and heads for the large blast door. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Up in the control room, Sergeant Laura Davis promptly dials up P7X-165, and the MALP is sent through, while the team and General Hammond standby, observing the reports. Initial readings are unchanged, though a slight variance in temperature (83 degrees as opposed to 81) is noted. However the initial MALP survey results stand, which reassures the team about the breathable atmosphere and habitable surface. 

Activating the sensors and cameras, additional information begins to come in, displayed across the monitors as the first pictures come into focus. From the camera images, the Stargate appears to be located in the midst of an open-roofed structure with unidentified hieroglyphic markings on several walls and pillars. 

"That explains the bare rock, no plant life assessment." Jodi murmurs. "It's inside some sort of building." 

"What are those markings, Doctor?" Hammond asks Terhi, pointing to the hieroglyphs. Are they Egyptian?" 

Terhi leans in to get a closer look at the hieroglyphs on the screen, though the small screen and distance make it hard. "Can you zoom in on an individual glyph of group of glyphs?" She asks Laura Davis. 

"Standby Doctor, I'll see what we can do." Davis murmurs, carefully manipulating the MALPs controls. The articulated arm extends forward, the glyphs growing in size, and Davis activates the camera, capturing several scans of the glyphs. "There you go Doctor. That's about all I can scan from this location. 

"Thanks, Laura," Terhi says as she looks at the screen. "No, General Hammond, these are not Egyptian." She straightens up and looks at Hammond. "I'm going to have to do some checking to figure out what they are, and see if I can translate any of them." 

"No EM transmissions detected." Davis reports. "At least not within radius." Ferretti nods, leaning forward to watch the panning camera. He points a finger at the screen. "There's the DHD." he says, looking over to Marcus. "At least we know we can get back." 

"360 Degree sensor sweep completed." Davis reports. "No bio-chem agents noted. Atmospheric readings within acceptable parameters." he looks back at the team. "I'd say protective gear not required on this one, Sirs." 

"Agreed." General Hammond replies. "We'll dispatch an Exploration Team." He looks over to Ferretti and the rest of the team. "Major, you have a go. Your team will depart in 16 hours." He says with his slight Texas drawl, before returning to his office. 

After Hammond leaves, Ferretti leans back and scratches his throat, and Marcus can see the searing white skin of his eight-month old scar, inflicted by Apophis' warriors. "Well it's Miller Time for me. You two want to do some beers or have you got something else on the go?" 

"Not for me thanks," Jodi answers. "I want to go home and spend some time with Sagan." She stands and pushes her chair in. "See you guys tomorrow." She says, with a wave and nervous smile, she turns and heads towards the exit elevators. 

"I've got to get started on these Hieroglyphs." Terhi says, a touch of regret in her voice. "Maybe I'll stop by later though…" She says with a shrug, then moves off to the labs once more. 

"Does it have to be Miller?" Marcus asked with a grin. "You play pool, Major?" Ferretti leans forward, a sly smile on his face. 

"Blackhorse," Ferretti says teasingly. "Some men play pool, others watch pool, and then there are those select few of us, who have taken pool to the level of a new art form." Ferretti cracks his knuckles and stands up. "Come along Marine, and let Poppa Ferretti show you why Real Men don't need chalk." 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Up in the labs, it takes Terhi five hours to match up and begin deciphering the glyphs recorded by the MALP. The few good images she can make out on the MALP transmission convince Terhi that she is looking at Maya-derived script. It is hard to determine exactly, as the Mayan civilization was actually composed of a number of tribes; the Huastec, the Chol, the Pokomam, and others which go back about 5,000 years in the Pre-Columbian era of Mesoamerica. 

Terhi takes a break to go inform General Hammond of the results of her work so far, but finds the General has departed for the evening. Checking her watch, Terhi realizes how late she has worked at this and decides to put off further research until the morning. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

13 March 1998, The SGC: 

Morning finds SG-4 readying for their next deployment. The countdown clock shows 3 Hours and 12 Minutes until departure. Following check-in, Ferretti heads off to confer with Rossiter while the rest of the team does the final departure checks. 

Going through the equipment Marcus finds no surprises, though he sees no one has taken the time to 'customize' the gear and make it field-worthy. He busies himself re-rigging the factory set straps to a more comfortable and practical configuration, tapes down all the loose metal clips with gun tape, for silent movement, then he carefully covers all the metal snaps and buttons with gun tape to prevent reflective glare, and other tricks learned in the field. 

"Uh, Marcus." Jodi Franklin's voice penetrates his concentration. Looking up, he sees his teammate with her desert kit scattered in disarray. "Help…?" She says with a slightly embarrassed, slightly desperate tone. ‘Well, at least she got the uniform on right.’ He says, running a covert eye over his brown-haired teammate. With an easy smile and a slight chuckle, he helps the scientist rig her gear for the trip. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Terhi meanwhile, has gone in search of Rothman to see what he knows about Pre-Columbian Mayans. She's pretty sure that no one from SGC has encountered any Gou'ald claiming to be the Mayan gods, but she wants to be sure, just in case. Terhi also hopes that she might be able to convince at least one person from the research department who might not be really busy on another project, to assemble whatever information he or she can about the subject while SG-4 off-world. 

She finds Rothman in the research library, working on something for SG-6, but he is glad for the break. As Terhi explains what she has found, Rothman chews the arm of his glasses and hums softly. It's how he concentrates, but for the months they shared office space, Terhi always found it annoying. 

"You’re in luck," Rothman says, putting his glasses down. "I was working on Mayan research just before I got drafted." Rothman says. "If these really are Mayan hieroglyphs, it's an incredible find. The Maya writing system is the only writing system of the Pre-Columbian New World that can completely represent spoken language to the same degree as the written language of the old world." Rothman moves to a shelf and pulls down a large book, flipping its pages as he talks. 

_Standing beside her, his eyes can’t help from flicking over from the book to steal glances of her as she moves and shifts. The way she leans on the desk; how she unconsciously shifts her weight from one hip to the other; pull of the uniform fabric against her; even the fresh scent of her hair...he blinks rapidly and points to the book._

"Now look at this," He says, gesturing to the open book, which shows several diagrams and pictures.” He points at one of the pictures. "The most notable monuments are these large pyramids they built in their religious centres." He looks at Terhi. "Doctor Langford has had a couple of researchers looking for any correlation between the Mayan pyramids and the Egyptian ones, ever since that Hathor woman was found inside one." Rothman gets a distant look for a moment, then he snaps back to where he is. "You know, if you need any help checking this stuff out..." He shrugs and lets the comment trail off. 

"That's why I came to you," Terhi says with a smile. "I'm going to need help co-ordinating all the data that we bring back, and I've got no idea how much time I'll be able to spend working on it myself. I'm going to get as much detail as I can of the glyphs on the walls of the room where the Gate is." She gives a self-depreciating chuckle. "It took me five hours to identify and tentatively translate just these few glyphs. I'm afraid to think how long it will take to do a room full." 

After her talk with Rothman, Terhi heads out in search of Dr. Langford, to let her know about the Mayan hieroglyphs. As Terhi makes her way to towards the labs, she finds Ferretti in the same elevator. "Major, just the person I wanted to see," she says with a smile. 

"Sure Doc," he replies. "What's up?" 

"I'm on my way to find Dr. Langford, to let her know about what I've found out about the hieroglyphics we saw via the MALP on P7X-165, then give you an update. Care to join me, and we can kill two birds with one stone." 

"Why not?" He says with a casual shrug. "Okay, we'll talk to Langford then grab a bite - and you can translate for me whatever you and Langford say to each other." 

"I'll do my best," Terhi said with a chuckle. "The hieroglyphs we saw turn out to be some kind of early Mayan dialect, and Dr. Langford has assigned researchers to try and find links between the Mayans and the Egyptians because of finding Hathor in that Mayan pyramid." 

"You don't think this is gonna be a Hathor re-match do you? He asks. "I've gotta tell you Doc - I'm getting tired of all these Goa'uld Queens that seem to be coming out of the walls." 

“You're not the only one. Almost every ancient religion on Earth had a mother goddess, so it's probably pretty safe to say there could be a whole bunch of them out there," Terhi said, and it was obvious she didn't relish the idea either. "Before I was recruited for the Stargate program, I believed there was a connection between most of the ancient cultures, given the appearance of pyramids in so many of them, especially those who became dominant in their region of the world.” Ferretti looks perturbed at the idea. 

“Now we know that it's true. With the discovery of P7X-165, it provides evidence there is - or perhaps was - a group of Goa'uld upon whom the Mayan religion is based upon. If there's an active civilization on the planet who worship the Mayan gods, there's a good chance there's a Queen somewhere. What her name would be, I have no idea, since the writing is proto-Mayan, and there's not a lot of information about the religion of that time.” 

"Great, you can't imagine how happy it makes me to know that I'm going to spend the rest of my life fighting a bunch of guys dressed like Thor, Zeus, or whatever the Mayans called their gods." Ferretti says sourly. 

"I'm none too keen on the idea myself," Terhi said with a frown of her own. "If we're lucky, Dr. Langford will have some information for us, or we could be even luckier and Teal'c might be able to tell us something." She says as they exit the elevator. 

Ferretti pulls open the door to Dr Langford's' lab. "Yeah maybe. Just once it would be nice to go someplace and find a planet of people like us, who've never heard of the Goa'uld; got a cure for cancer; and are eager to trade for used coffee grounds." He says sarcastically. 

Inside the lab, Terhi and Ferretti find Langford and about four other researchers going through a mountain of printed materials on the Mayans, as well as a couple of computer screens of information. Briefing the two team members, Langford explains that the Mayan civilization was actually composed of a number of tribes; the Huastec, the Chol, the Pokomam, and others. "Now these inscriptions you’re seeing here," Langford says, pointing at the monitor as it does a slideshow of the pictures taken by the MALP. "The hieroglyphs seem most closely related to the Huastec," She explains. No direct reference to any Goa'uld can be ascertained from the pictures, as the various views are too incomplete to allow for a grammatical translation. She does however; provide a printout of Huastec hieroglyphs, and another one on known Mayan deities. 

"Hate to break this up," Ferretti says to Dr Langford. "But we're on the ramp in about 20 minutes." He says, looking at Terhi and tapping his watch and nodding his head towards the door. 

* * * * * * * * * * 

Down in the team bay, Marcus answers a 'Wakeup Call' from Master-Sergeant Harriman in the Ops Room, reminding SG-4 of their imminent departure. As he and Franklin gather their kit, Ferretti and Lehtinen return to load up for departure. 

"Okay kids – we've got six minutes," Ferretti says with a final glance at his watch. "You've got time for a nervous pee, then I want you on the departure line." Ferretti's tone more brusque and business-like than the last 16 hours. 

"I'm good," said Terhi, who had dealt with all last minute details like that before coming to the gate room. Jodi gives a sheepish grin and hurries out the door, followed by Marcus, who also heads for the can. 

The team arrives in the Gateroom with a couple of minutes to spare. Already the Stargate is spinning, one by the one the coordinates locking into the dialling sequence. Looking up to the Control Room, the team can see General Hammond standing near Master Sergeant Harriman. “SG-4 you have a go. Your first communications window will be in 24 Hours time.” Hammond’s voice comes over the loudspeakers. 

There is a WOOSH sound in the Gateroom as the event horizon is established, and with a glance to the team, Ferretti gives the signal to move out. ”Blackhorse, you’re on the right; I’ve got the left. Doctors, follow on.” Ferretti’s order is simple but clear, and the team moves into the Event Horizon.


End file.
